I want to work with smoked meats in new food concept

Hi everyone. I am new to smoking meats and I want to learn a lot to start a food business with smoked meats. I am 38 years old and have a successful franchise but I have owned another food business that failed so I know the extreme risk but still I really, really want to have a smoked meat quick serve store cause I love smoked meats!!!

The only smoker I have ever used was two clay pots with a electric stove inspired by Alton Brown. It worked wonderfully for years until the electric stove burnt out and I stopped. Now I want to mimic it with a crockpot!

The things I hope to learn are the advantages to using a professionally built smoker and how to maximize smoke flavor and recipes to get the best smoked flavor. I get heart burn with bbq sauce so I also like the idea of other juices or sauces that can compliment different meats that aren't bbq sauce.

I hope to read a lot of post and ask questions and learn from all of you.

Welcome to the forum. Your intro was hard for me to follow. Are you looking to get a smoker or make BBQ in a crock pot? If you are looking to use a crock pot alone you won't find many recipes on here. Crock pots are great tools but the really can't take the place of a smoker.

If you want to start a smoked meat business i would recommend getting at least a low to mid grade professional smoker. of course that's an investment of $3k-$10k so that's easier said than done. I have used croc pots to make cue and it sucks or used croc pots to keep my smoked Q warm now that is ok but if you are going to do any kind of smoked meat business then check out the various pit manufacturers such as Lang, Klose, Jambo, Shirley Fabrication or other something in that neighborhood.

Otherwise welcome to the forums, don't be afraid to ask questions and please share what you make with pictures!